(PresidentialHill.com)- Last Wednesday, Pope Francis said Ukraine is being “martyred” and described Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “monstrosity” as he recounted the recent gunfire incident involving his envoy to the war-torn country.
During his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope also revealed that Vatican envoy, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, came under light arms fire as he and his entourage were unloaded supplies.
The Polish cardinal, serving as the pope’s personal representative to Ukraine, was on his fourth humanitarian and pastoral mission to Ukraine when on Saturday, September 17, he was forced to dodge bullets after coming under gunfire near the city of Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia is the site of Ukraine’s nuclear power plant which has been described as the largest in Europe.
The cardinal was unharmed in the incident.
Afterward, Krajewski returned to his work unloading supplies.
The following Monday, Krajewski visited the recently-discovered mass grave in Izium where he prayed in silence as forensic experts exhumed bodies. So far, at least 146 bodies, mostly civilians including two children, have been exhumed from the makeshift gravesites.
In his address last Wednesday, Pope Francis recounted his recent conversation with Cardinal Krajewski who described to the pontiff “the pain of these people, the savage actions, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies they find.”
The pope called on the faithful to unite with the “noble” and “martyred” Ukrainian people.
